Press Release: Prizes and Awards
'Dad Rules' The Early Years Awards Judging Panel
Posted at 8:09AM Wednesday 07 May 2008
The actor and journalist Andrew Clover has been announced as one of the judges of Booktrust's Early Years Awards 2008. Clover, who recently starred in BBC1's Ashes to Ashes, is also the author of Dad Rules, a collection of his much-loved Sunday Times columns which gives a modern take on how to stay sane while parenting. Clover will join an illustrious panel which includes the celebrated illustrator Annie Kubler, Bookstart founder Wendy Cooling, librarian Salma Barakat and health visitor John Berry. The Booktrust Early Years Awards honours books that demonstrate remarkable creativity in words, design and illustration necessary to encourage young children into reading. The Booktrust Early Years Awards aim: To celebrate, publicise and reward the exciting range of books being published today for babies, toddlers and pre-school children To promote and make these books accessible to as wide an audience as possible Categories of award: The best book for babies under one year old The best book for pre-school children, up to five years of age An award for the best emerging illustrator Biographies of judges Wendy Cooling (Chair) Children's Book Consultant Wendy Cooling was originally an English teacher in inner-London secondary schools. In 1990, she left teaching to join The Children's Book Foundation (now Booktrust) running a range of projects to promote reading, including Bookstart for which she continues to act as Senior Consultant. Wendy works with many children's book publishers, reviewing books, running in-service training sessions for teachers and librarians and working with children of all ages on reading-related projects. She is the editor of several story and poetry anthologies. Andrew Clover Andrew Clover writes a popular column in the Sunday Times. He's written a fantasy book, Dirty Angels, about a teenage boy who sees angels flying over the city. Penguin are publishing his second book, Dad Rules, which is about how he learned to be happy, by playing with his daughters. He has three young children, all girls. The older two are passionate about reading books; the youngest one prefers to suck them. Also a comedian and actor, Andrew recently starred in Ashes to Ashes, in which he played the sinister clown. Most days, he also appears in shows devised by his daughters. He usually plays Gerald the Giant, or The Captain (an unsuccessful detective who's always finding the wrong clues), or Lady Velvet (a wicked stepmother figure, who's immoderately vain about her dancing). Annie Kubler Annie Kubler was born in 1960, in the north east of France, in a mountainous area called the Vosges, where she spent her childhood. In 1978, she entered the School of Decorative Arts of Strasbourg to eventually specialise, in the final 2 years, in Children's Illustration. In 1983 she gained a National Diploma in Visual Communication. In 1985, she moved to England, having been offered a job by Publisher Michael Twinn, owner of Child's Play International Ltd. For the past 20 years she has been Art Director of Child's Play, while illustrating many children's titles, including Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, which won Booktrust's Early Years Award in 2002. Previous titles shortlisted for the Booktrust Early Years Awards include Peek-A-Boo and If You're Happy and You Know It. At present, she lives with her partner Chris and their 3 children in a little village in Wiltshire. John Berry After qualifying as a nurse in 1988 John spent 3 years working within the specialities of Ear, Nose and Throat nursing, Ophthalmology and then as a senior staff nurse within the Accident and Emergency Department at Scunthorpe General Hospital. In 1991, John undertook Health Visitor training at Hull University and has worked for a number of years as a Health Visitor within the Humber region. In the late 1990's, John became a Lecturer / Practitioner at Hull University for a period of 3 years before becoming the Clinical Lead for Health Visiting within North Lincolnshire in 2002. Wendy Cooling Children's Book Consultant Wendy Cooling (Chair) was originally an English teacher in inner-London secondary schools. In 1990, she left teaching to join The Children's Book Foundation (now Booktrust) running a range of projects to promote reading, including Bookstart for which she continues to act as Senior Consultant. Wendy works with many children's book publishers, reviewing books, running in-service training sessions for teachers and librarians and working with children of all ages on reading-related projects. She is the editor of several story and poetry anthologies. Salma Barakat Having married in 1988 and moving abroad for 8 years Salma was busy raising her 3 boys, but moved back to the UK in 1996. She started working with children by volunteering and successfully completing the Diploma in Pre School Practice at her youngest son's pre school (Sunshine Pre- School, Eton Wick) She worked there for 3 years and moved into working as a Learning Support Assistant in Hilltop First School in Windsor in May 2000. Salma became the Bookstart Officer for Slough in October 2003.
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